My PCOS Kitchen

Low Carb & Ketogenic Recipes that are Gluten-free and Sugar-free

PCOS Facial Hair, Electrolysis & Laser Hair Removal

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Before I start talking about hirsutism and PCOS, I’d like to remind everyone that I am not a doctor and am writing this from my personal experiences, a survey conducted with 950 women who have PCOS and a series of interviews with different electrologists and laser hair removal technicians.
I think this post is going to be one of the most embarrassing and humiliating one I’ll ever write about, but I think it’s one of the most problematic symptom that I’ve had to deal with since 2010 and I think that writing about my experiences should or may help other women out there who deal, have dealt or will deal with this.

As most of you know, this blog is primarily dedicated to food and recipes that are gluten-free, sugar-free and low carb so that women with PCOS who are interested in losing weight and taking control of their symptoms naturally can refer to them and start their low carb journey.

Hirsutism a.k.a. Facial Hair

One of the most commonly known symptoms of PCOS is weight gain, but I think the most common symptom that no one really talks about is hirsutism, most frequently known as facial hair. It’s one of the biggest struggle I’ve personally had to deal with since 2010, as well as plenty of other fellow cysters.  It’s not something that any woman wants to admit.  I mean having facial hair as a woman isn’t a feature that I like to boast about.  I’ve seen a few women online that have gone viral for sharing their facial hair and accepting the fact that they have a beard and I applaud them.  I’m so proud of them for accepting what they have been dealt with. I, on the other hand, couldn’t and still can’t.  For the past 7 years, all I’ve felt was humiliation and embarrassment.  I’ve never really felt very attractive or feminine because of it.  I’ve never been able to accept it.  Actually, I’ve accepted the fact that I have facial hair, but I’ve never been able to accept that I, as a woman, should have to endure having facial hair. For those who aren’t familiar with PCOS, when I say facial hair, I don’t mean the light blonde facial hair that every human has, I mean an actual man beard that grows on a woman’s face. It’s most commonly associated with women who have PCOS, but there are a few women that do not have PCOS, but just have higher testosterone or other hormonal problems.
The hair started to appear when my weight passed 230lbs/105kg. My insulin was through the roof, in the 40s, and my hormones were out of whack.  I was about 20 years old and hair started to appear on my side burns and on my chin.  At first, it wasn’t much.  It was just a few hairs here and there.  But as the months went by, the patches grew larger.  They never fully connected, but were very noticeable as I am of Italian descent and my hair tends to be very dark and thick.  I started waxing, bleaching, plucking, you name it.  Anything to make it less noticeable.  But it wasn’t working.  The hair were there to stay.  No matter what I tried, it would just grow back right away.  When I turned 22 years old, I finally had enough.  I had read so many suggestions online to get laser hair removal and I decided to take all of my money and go do it.  I was a student at the time and I wasn’t rich or anything, but I had enough and decided to use the last of my savings for it as it was important for me to get rid of it.  I needed this. I needed it to be gone so badly.

Laser Hair Removal

I booked an appointment at a laser hair removal salon soon after.  The first appointment, the technician explained to me how laser worked.  She told me that she treated many women with PCOS, but that I shouldn’t expect to be hair-free.  Instead, I should expect that after 5-6 treatments, I should have a 70% decrease in hair growth. She then told me that laser hair removal wasn’t permanent, but it did significantly decrease the hair amount. I was happy with what I heard and decided to go ahead with the treatments.
The treatments were really painful. I cried every single time.  The upper lip was the worse. I have never felt that much pain in my life.  Laser shocks your skin and burns the hair instantly. One shock has a range of 1-5cm or something, I can’t really remember. After the treatments, you need to ice the area for an hour or two and put some pure vitamin E all over. The skin gets really bumpy, hot and red, but it disappears after a day or two.  You’ll notice some burnt hair that will fall out after a while. You’ll notice that your skin tends to be really hot and burn for about an hour after the session.  You may even get slight bruising if the laser touches a vein.

The outcome

For the next year, I did about 8 sessions.  Not only did the hair all come back 6 weeks after each session, but the amount of facial hair that I had basically tripled.  I used to only have patches on my sideburns and my chin, but after the sessions, I had a full-on man beard connecting my side burns, neck, chin, jaw and moustache.  Laser hair removal, if anything, had me feel even more worthless than I’ve ever felt.  I started the treatments expecting to find a cure or some sort of relief, a slight sliver of hope that could make me feel more of a woman and make me comfortable in my own skin, regain my self-confidence and feel beautiful.  These hopes were completely destroyed after a year of laser hair removal.  I’d be lying if I said I wasn’t depressed and disappointed. I don’t think I had ever felt so sad in my entire life.  I was so humiliated. I didn’t want to go outside, hang out with friends, and get seen by anyone whatsoever. Imagine being a woman that is supposed so look a certain way, especially the fact that being a woman in our society this day and age is already so damn hard, but being a woman that has a full grown man beard all around her face.  Can you even imagine the pain and embarrassment one can have? The worst part was that the hair wouldn’t stop growing. It wouldn’t stop like leg hair at about 1cm, it would just continue to grow and grow, and if I wouldn’t have cut it, I’d probably have the Guinness world record for the longest man beard a woman can have.

The emotional roller coaster of having regrowth

At that time, I’d completely given up feeling slightly normal.  I was so sick and tired of shaving, waxing, plucking and bleaching.  No matter what I tried, the hair would come back the same day.  I’d have a five o’clock shadow by the end of the day, irritated skin from shaving, pimples from waxing and my self-esteem had completely gone down the drain. I eventually gave up on dealing with the hair as I just didn’t have enough courage to do it anymore.  It came to the point where I honestly didn’t care what other people would think of me as I, myself, had lost every ounce of respect and self-love I had for myself.  I gave up on the outside world for a while, and I think from when I was about 22-24 years old, I had reached the highest level of depression one could reach and I really wasn’t in a happy place. All I could think was that no one would ever love me or look past my facial hair.  All my friends knew I had facial hair, I mean it was obvious.  But just the fact that they would notice or slightly look at my face for that extra second made me feel so self-conscious.  It hurt me in a way where it’s been really hard for me to move forward and accept who I am and what I’ve been dealt with.

Laser doesn’t work with PCOS*

After the 8th treatment was over, the laser technician told me that laser wouldn’t work on me since I have PCOS and that I should do electrolysis instead.  I had used all of my money and basically had tripled the amount of hair that was on my face.  I looked into electrolysis and it was just completely out of my price range.  Electrolysis zaps one hair at a time and so to do a whole face can take 20+ hours of treatments and each hair follicle needs 2-10 treatments. The worst thing is that electrolysis treatments need to be regular so you can’t just skip a few months and go back.  It won’t work and the hair will come back and you’ll have wasted your money.  Obviously, at that time electrolysis was out of the question and out of my price range.  So I completely gave up.  I stopped shaving, plucking and waxing.  The hair amount was just so ridiculous that anything I tried was just making it worst. My skin felt so sensitive and irritated that I had just enough.  I decided to let the hair grow out and just bleached them.  I was tired of the pain of pulling each hair out of my skin 2-3 times a day just so that I could feel like a woman, so I just let it grow out. I think I had the long facial hair for about 2 years.  Everyone noticed. Obviously my friends didn’t treat me differently, but they did notice and so did strangers.

*Looking back, laser may have been more effective if my hormones and insulin were at normal levels like today.  I think the reason laser didn’t work is because my insulin was in the 40s, whereas it’s 7 today, my male hormones were too high and my female hormones, LH and FSH, were irregular, whereas they’re all normal today. But I think that because my hormones and insulin were out of whack, laser did not work.  However, I can’t say for sure that it was because of that.  I definitely think it was one of the main factors that made it unsuccessful. If perhaps my hormones and insulin would have been normal, it may have been successful, but because my experience was negative, I can’t recommend laser to anyone.*

Electrolysis

For those two years, I had gone to a few electrolysis clinics in Ottawa and Toronto to see what it was like and how it felt. I had explained to them that I did laser and that it had tripled the amount of hair I originally had. She told me that laser really shouldn’t be done anywhere where hormones are sensitive.  Hair that grows on the face, under the belly button, on your bum, between you thighs or behind you upper arms are all very sensitive to hormones, whether male or female, and so having laser done on those hair follicles only stimulates the dormant ones to come out even more because it zaps a wide area and touches the ingrown hair too. I think I went 4 times total to electrolysis because I didn’t really have the funds for it. But my goodness. Laser is painful, yes, but at least it’s quick.  I hadn’t realized that doing electrolysis would take so much time.  The way electrolysis works is that they insert a tiny needle into the hair follicle and zap the root of the hair with an electric current for 1-10 seconds depending on the machine and the electric current it’s set at.  The shock can be a little painful to ridiculously painful.  The electrologist will adjust the power according to your pain reaction. I’ve read that the stronger the power, the better because that way the root of the hair can be sure to be burned. However, it’s not like you can suddenly withstand a super strong electric shock 300 times on your face for an hour. There’s a limit to how much pain one can handle and my pain tolerance isn’t really high.

Try out different clinics

I tried four different electrolysis clinics and let me tell you something.  Before you decide on a clinic to continue your treatments for the following number of years, TEST out the electrologists.  I do not mean to be rude, but electrolysis needs to zap one hair at a time meaning that the treatments will take an enormous amount of time.  We have over a million hair on our faces and zapping one hair can take 1-10 seconds.  I don’t deny that electrologists know what they’re doing, but the speed they do it at is important.  Time is money, especially for electrolysis.  I tried four different clinics and I swear some took so much time compared to other clinics that I honestly thought they were doing it on purpose so that they could get more money out of me. So definitely try out different places and see which one gets the job done fast.  If you go to a slow clinic and don’t check out other ones, your treatments will cost SO much more over the years so definitely be careful with that. I once counted how many hair this one electrologist zapped in 45 minutes and she zapped about 400 something.  When I went to a slower electrologist, she had zapped about 100 in the same amount of time.

Time is money

In addition, the equipment used is extremely important.  The fast place used a bright light that would go over my face so that she could see all the hairs, plus she had these mini magnifying glasses that would make her see all the tiny hairs and make sure to zap every one of them. She also held the tweezers and needle in one hand and used her other hand to stretch out my skin to get access to all the hair. Also, she sat on a lower chair while I was lying on a bed and she was crouched over me so that she could see everything. On the other hand, at the slowest place, the electrologist didn’t used any magnifying glasses, and she stood up so her face wasn’t close to my face.  She couldn’t see the hairs as well, thus the reason why she was slow.  After one treatment with her, I decided that it was a huge waste of money and also my precious time because she wasn’t competent enough. So honestly make sure your electrologist is fast.  It is SO important.

Patient or bag of money?

Another important thing to consider is whether the electrologist treats you like a patient or a bag of money. I felt that the electrologists that would put a timer, check the time every second or try to make me sign a contract that said to come at least two times a week as a client or she wouldn’t be able to treat me were being unfair and were thinking of getting paid more than treating me. I honestly did not like that as I knew that I would be doing treatments for a long time and wanted an electrologist that I could trust and that wasn’t just in it for the money.  The one I go to now schedules me for a session of however long and sometimes pass the time scheduled by 2-10 minutes and she never charges me.  I think she knows that there is a lot of work to do and she treats me more like a human being, rather than a bag of money.  She always makes sure that whatever area we’re doing that day is completely hair free.

I got a job! = I can pay for electrolysis

In January 2015, I moved to Japan because I got a job there and was officially employed. That meant that I could finally afford electrolysis treatments. I was not interested in laser as it had ruined my face and made the hairs grow like crazy, so I definitely wanted to invest my time into electrolysis. If you’ve read my ‘About Me’ page, you’ll know that the second I moved to Japan, my periods magically came back and have been regular ever since. Electrolysis isn’t very popular in Japan so finding a clinic was a bit hard.  I actually have to go into Tokyo (I live in Saitama, another prefecture) and it takes about an hour and a half each way.
The first time was just like the other clinics. They explained how electrolysis works and give you a free trial for 10 minutes.  Because I had already done electrolysis before, I told her I wanted to buy an hour right away and do a treatment. She used a different kind of machine (there are so many varieties btw) where I held a metal stick and she would zap each hair for a minimum of 10 seconds. She said she prefers to use this machine and zap for a longer periods because she’s seen more success zapping for a longer time than for a shorter time. She has a big light over my head, a magnifying glass and sits right beside me so she’s crouched over my body so she sees all the hair.  I love her because she never puts a timer and we just talk while she does the treatments.  Every clinic is different in terms of prices.  I think Japan is on the higher end for it.  You can buy minutes or you can buy a 5 hour package. Other clinics will sell bigger packages too, but she’s the cheapest one I’ve found so far and love her. A 5 hour package in Japan costs 61000¥ (540$) so you can see that it can get pretty pricey. I decided to do 45 minutes treatments per week because one, I couldn’t afford more and two, it hurts soo much that I cannot handle more than 45 minutes.  I would’ve liked to go twice a week, but I could only afford once a week for 45 minutes so that’s what I started with.

My PCOS Kitchen - Electrolysis Hair Removal - Facial Hair - Hirsutism - PCOS Woman - Insulin Sensitivity - Insulin Resistance
If you look at my chart (sorry I only started the chart in May 2015 and not January), you can see that I started with 3-3.75 hours per month, decreased to 2 per month, then to 1 per month and now I do 30 minutes per month.  My chart also includes my weight, what days my periods came and how long between each period.  The black sections are because my periods overlapped between 2 months. In January 2016, I got my periods on the 30th until the 3rd of February and then again on the 6th of March.

My PCOS Kitchen - Menstruation History

You can check out my latest health update to see where my insulin levels and hormones are!

My PCOS Kitchen - How My PCOS is CURED

The treatments

I started the treatments with my long hair bleached because I had stopped waxing. Because I had so much hair, we decided to start section by section or else we’d get confused as to where we had done and where to redo, etc.  I asked her to do my chin first because that was the place I hated the most, then she moved to my sideburns, then my cheeks and then my jaw and neck.  By the way, she didn’t go over those places in one treatment, I mean in the course of 20 or so hours, she went through all those sections one by one, while going back to previous sections to zap the hair that had come back.  My face wasn’t clear, or semi-cleared until about November 2015.  I think I finally started to look like I had no beard around that time, but the hair would come back so I still had to go every week or every two weeks.
While she focused on eliminating the hair on a particular section, I would still have hair on the other sections and I was fine by that.  You have to remember that once you start electrolysis, you CANNOT shave, pluck or wax the hair as you’re just going to ruin everything and the hairs WILL come back. You can trim and bleach, but under no circumstances should you pluck the hair out of your face.  It’s a pretty crappy part about it, but I learned to live with the hair and I’m finally seeing results.

Hormones & Insulin

It is important to note that all women produce the male hormone testosterone, but in much smaller amounts.  This is one of the hormones that causes facial hair, among other ones.  Excess facial hair depends entirely on several factors: the hair follicles’ androgen sensitivity, genetics (people from the Middle East or Mediterranean tend to have more hair), insulin sensitivity, testosterone levels, and hormones like estrogen and progesterone.  If you have a poor diet and have consumed high amounts of carbs like sugar and refined carbohydrates, your body most likely started becoming insulin resistant over the years. When that happens, your body is unable to process sugars properly or break down food.  This unfortunately has a major impact on hormone levels which can cause hair to grow.  A diet that is high in carbohydrates raises insulin levels, which in turn raises testosterone levels and other female hormones, which can contribute to an increase in facial hair.  High testosterone can also cause acne and scalp hair loss.  As long as your hormones are out of whack and your insulin is too high, hair WILL grow.  Essentially, you CANNOT do electrolysis or laser if you do not have your insulin and hormones under control. The hair that you zap will not only come back, but dormant hairs will also come out.

 

How long should it take?

I found this really helpful article here that talks about how many hours or years you should expect to get rid of facial hair.  It’s an article specifically designed for transsexuals, but they go through the same thing as women with PCOS.

Factors to consider

  1. An important factor to remember is that electrolysis WILL TAKE TIME, even years. You should expect treatments to take from 1 to 4 years or more. According to the article, the average is 2 years and the fastest has been 10 months.  Completion requires from 40 hours to more than 700. The treatments NEED to be regular, and by that I mean every single week.  The biggest financial challenge will be to get your face cleared, after that it’s just zapping the hairs that come back.  For me, personally, it took 10 months-ish to clear my face after going there once a week. It can obviously take less time if you have the money, but for my case, it wasn’t. After your face is cleared, then you can start going for less time or just 1-3 times a month depending on how much hair comes back.  I’ve been going for 2.5 years now.
  2. I think the most important thing to remember is that if you do not have your hormones and insulin under control, the hair WILL come back. Before even starting treatments, you need to get your female and male hormones and insulin under control, either by diet and exercise or by medication.  If they aren’t in control, the hairs will always come back, unfortunately.
  3. You need to be patient. It won’t happen overnight.  It’s almost been three years for me and I now go once a month instead of once a week.  The hair is barely noticeable, but a few do come back.  The hair on my neck and jaw are coming back first because that is the last section that I started.  The hair on my chin was the section I had started with and I haven’t had hair there for a good year now.  I get occasional hair on my sideburns and cheeks, but most of it is on my jaw and neck.  I just started doing the upper lip because it’s one of the most painful area to treat and I’ve been avoiding until now.  I started the upper lip in June 2017.  I can only handle about 5 to 10 minutes on the upper lip and then I start crying.  Even if the hair decides to stick around for the rest of my life, going once a month for touch ups instead of once week is definitely a life savour and I’ll take that any day.
  4. It will hurt. I find that the treatments during my periods or right before my periods are the most painful.  Maybe because I’m extra sensitive during those days, but I try to schedule my appointments at times where I will not be on my periods. I also take an Advil one hour before each treatment.  There are a few creams you can use before treatments (Maxilene and Emla) that sort of numb your face, but they can be quite pricey and honestly I’ve never noticed a difference with or without them so I just stick with my Advil.  I’ve been told that getting your face frozen after going to the dentist is a godsend since you don’t feel anything and can do 2+ hours without pain, but I obviously can’t do that every month lol.
  5. Your diet will affect the growth of the hair. Make sure to eat healthy and exercise as eating sugar or gluten will affect the hair and they will come back faster.  In April 2016, I had an ACL surgery on my knee because I broke it a few months before.  Anyway, I was hospitalized for three weeks and couldn’t bring any food in the hospital.  I had to eat what they gave me for three whole weeks.  I had been eating gluten-free, sugar-free and low carb for the past year and I suddenly had to eat wheat and rice every single meal for three weeks.  At that time, I used to go do treatments every 2 weeks for 30 minutes for the past 4 months, but when I was hospitalized, the hair came back after a week and double the amount that normally comes. I had to go do electrolysis 3 times that month because I had eaten carbs, gluten and sugar for three weeks, also because I was stuck in bed and wasn’t moving.  Ever since, I’ve been very careful about what I eat and the hair growth has decreased over the months.  You’ll also notice that eating low carb can lighten the hair colour.

After three years of treatments and seven years of having facial hair, I finally look like a woman again.  A few of the hairs do come back in some random places, but I go do touch-ups once a month and then it’s all good again.  You can see in the pictures below the hair before the treatment, the hair right after, and the hair growth 3 weeks after.  Compared to two years ago, I think it’s absolutely incredible.

The Unfortunate Truth

I just want to say that it is extremely important that you remember this.  And I don’t mean to be cruel or mean, but just want to say the unavoidable truth.  As humans, we all have blonde baby hair.  The hair is in its dormant  form.  If your hormones are out of whack or if your insulin is too high, those blonde hair follicles will come out of their dormant form and turn long and black.  Once the facial hair has come out and grown dark and black, there is no way to remove it, unless permanently removed. By that I mean, no matter how much vitamins or medication you take, no matter how healthy you eat or how much you exercise, once the hair is out, it’s out.  It doesn’t matter if you pluck, wax, trim or shave, the hair will come back. Think about it.  If you were to pluck your hair on your head, it will come back.  The hair follicle has been created so even if you pluck it out, the hair will simply grow back because the hair is not dormant anymore.  So you may think that eating healthy is not important, but it is.  By eating healthy, exercising and eating low carb, you are controlling the amount of insulin your body makes.  By having a normal amount of insulin, your hormones start to become normal and so do your insulin levels.  So eating healthy makes the baby blonde dormant hair that hasn’t developed into long and dark hairs stay that way, stay dormant and not come out.  But the hair that had come out previously from your hormones or extra insulin will unfortunately always be there unless permanently removed.  Since hair starts to appear with PCOS’ extreme levels of hormones and insulin, there is no way to remove the hair follicles once the hair has come out, unless you do permanent hair removal ONLY IF YOUR HORMONES AND INSULIN ARE NORMAL.

The treatments in pictures

Here are some pictures of treatments I had this year so you can see how hair growth works. I don’t really have hair on my sideburns, cheek and chin anymore.  It’s all in the neck and under my jaw as it’s the last area I started.  I started the moustache area in June 2017 so still have hair because we haven’t cleared the entire are yet.

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Excellent post. Thanks so much for sharing. After YEARS of battling facial hair, I feel like I have a fairly good base of knowledge on the subject. You have done such a wonderful job of articulating and explaining this subject. And all that you wrote is true.
    Are you afraid of doing all this electrolysis and being hair-free finally, only to have hormones get thrown off again later in life for one reason or another? Ex: pregnancy, menopause, etc… I had my facial hair under control finally, as best as I could. I did all things right and I saw the definite rewards of less hair, lighter color, slower regrowth, consistent periods, ovulation, etc… then I got pregnant. All shit hit the ceiling again. I’m so glad I didn’t start the electrolysis. Not only would it not work with the hormones out of whack again, but I would have wasted money on treatments as I would have had to stop them since I don’t believe you can do them while preggo.

    Hormones can always change with time, I just wonder what your thoughts are on the constant struggle most people will face dealing with the intricate balance and delicate hormonal balances for life? I can attest that eating low carb and exercising while nauseous has not been an option for me whith my past 2 pregnancies. It’s scary to think that I could go through years of electrolysis treatments only for it to be voided by yet another hormonal disturbance that sends my body back into a tornado of chaos. 😔
    You really should consider offering a paid service to help Women through this since you know so much, my friend. I would be your first customer.

    Reply

  2. Thank you so much for this article!

    I can confirm that laser can worsen the facial hair problem even if (and this is very important) all of your results are OK and the doctors say that you do not have a PCOS, insulin or any other hormonal problem.
    Even if the results are OK and you have the symptoms, you have a problem. It is as simple as that. But the doctors won’t know what to do with it and they’ll tell you that you are fine. And them telling you that won’t make the hair go away.

    So the only thing to do would be to follow the diet and exercise recommendations for women who suffer from PCOS and other hormonal and metabolic problems.

    Reply

  3. I like how you mentioned that an important factor to remember is that electrolysis will take time. I hate having to shave and have been looking for different options for hair removal. After learning more about electrolysis, I will definitely consider it as an option.

    Reply

  4. Hi Meghan! Thank you so much for sharing this post! Not many women, who do electrolysis share their pictures online. I tried IPL, as I wasn’t aware, that it’s not the perfect option. So I’m considering laser or electrolysis now. Your post has been so helpful and learning more about electrolysis from someone, who has actually experienced it!

    Reply

  5. Your story really touched my heart coz m also experiencing ds problem bt i think ds condition hs to do wit genes
    coz my grandma n mother have facial hair on de chin its jst dt mine r much worse.m stil studying at tertiary i will b doin ma 3rd yr in bachelor of nursing science i am willing to do wateva it takes to get rid of ds once i hv gt money afta completing my degree…it really affects my self confidence n resulted in depression am very conscious especially wen m at public places bcz ppl stare at me alot it evn ruins ma selfies….i also dnt fel lyk a woman wit beards especially wen i am with my boyfriend evn though he luvs me de way i am.so electrolysis it is afta 1 year to go hope my treatment will be successful

    Reply

  6. Hi Mira,

    Just wondering if you can recommend places in Ottawa to go to for electrolysis since you mentioned? Or even in Toronto?

    And what kind of devices should we be looking out for as well as the procedure that goes on? (I read longer and lower zap) but anything else you can recommend?

    Do you think plucking is an issue?

    Thanks

    Reply

  7. Thank you for writing this very brave post. I wonder if anyone knows about upper lip experiences with laser when you have pcos. I’m going to avoid the chin altogether but was thinking about the upper lip. Does anyone have an experience where doing so causes more hair growth?

    Reply

    • I did the upper lip 8 times with laser and it all came back. I’ve been doing the upper lip with electrolysis for the past 8 months and I barely have any hair left.
      I also do right now the underarms with laser, had 5 treatments so far and about half the hair is gone. Depends on the spot and if it’s affected by pcos or not. The triceps, face, thighs, belly button area, breasts, and inner thighs are all affected by pcos so I wouldn’t do laser there, just electrolysis.

      Reply

  8. Hi, Mira. I was recently diagnosed with PCOS and have started noticing hair growth on the sides of my face and neck. However, I don’t have the money to pay for any treatments. Do you think a healthy diet and exercise could still manage my facial hair symptoms. Or will it just continue to grow and get worse no matter what? (I have not touched the hair at all in any way.)

    Reply

    • Hi Maddy, eating healthy and exercising will stop the NEW hairs that haven’t come out yet, but the ones that have already come out are out forever unless permanently removed. So diet and exercise is important to not get any new hairs, but hair removal is necessary to get the OLD hair already out.

      Reply

  9. こんにちは!
    Thanks a ton for your informative post.

    I’ve been in Japan for the past 2+ years and have been teetering on whether I should give electrolysis a go or not.
    I’m thinking of starting electrolysis next year and want to get my blood work and US done beforehand. Can you recommend any hospitals? Especially one’s with English speaking doctors. My level of Japanese is not developed enough to handle medical situations so… Any information would help!

    When I was in my teens (now in my 30s) I gave into peer pressure to treat some negligible hairs on my chin and what started with 1 hair under my chin, has now become a forest.
    I had lost all faith in any treatments and respect for all the technicians.
    But….thanks to the internet and brave people like you, I’ve been reading about people PCOS who have been getting treated and it’s giving me more confidence. This post has been especially informative so thanks again!

    The last 2 times I’ve gotten blood work and US done for hormone and cycst checks haven’t come out conclusive. My hormones at least do not indicate imbalance. When I asked my gynac about it, she said, not all women with hirusitsm necessarily have PCOS or hormone imbalances. Anyways, I really just want to do a thorough check and get a yes or no answer once so I know my next steps.

    Therefore, any info you can provide on clinics/hospitals would help me get started.
    This would be my first hospital visit in Japan aside from the yearly checks required by my employer so I’m pretty nervous about what I should do.

    Thanks again!

    Reply

    • Hi Ariel, sorry for the late reply. I actually don’t know any English speaking hospitals as I just go to Japanese ones. As for the test I usually get done, you can see on this blog post and ask for the same tests to be done. https://www.mypcoskitchen.com/pcos-september-2017-health-update/ I just go to a ladies clinic. The one I go is here: かしわざき婦人科　６０４ Kamikocho, Omiya Ward, Saitama, Saitama Prefecture 330-0855.

      I recommend fairies electrolysis in Ikebukuro http://www.fairies.co.jp/ as that’s where I go and most of my hairs are gone now. She’s also the cheapest and most efficient electrolysis in the Kanto region. She doesn’t speak that much English, but i’ve referred many non-Japanese speaking friends there and they’ve all done great without the language abilities.

      Reply

      • Thanks Mira. I appreciate your response and your advice. I will definitely take a look at your post to get more information. Thanks again and Happy New Year!

        Reply

        • Ariel, I just wanted to write and mention that I too have hirusitism without PCOS and 2 inconclusive panels with the endocrinologist. I’m not in Japan, but just recently started Electrolysis here in the states and it seems to be working wonders. This comment is just to say that you are not alone and wish you luck on your journey.

          Reply

  10. HI,
    Amazing post. I can understand that it is based on your personal experience and researches but the information is looking very accurate. Thank you for sharing the details and your experience and Yes pics…

    Reply

  11. Thank you so much for this blogpost! I had a similar experience with laser hair removal – my facial hair grew back darker and thicker and now it is just disgusting. I regret it every single day. I am constantly so embarrassed and keep my hair down to cover my face every time I leave the house. I hate it so much. I get so sad. It’s hard for me to concentrate on my work sometimes because I’m always thinking about how I look like a man and how it’s so unfair that I have to go through this. I started electrolysis 3 weeks ago and not waxing my hair has been so hard. However, this post gave me hope that someday, hopefully, I can feel confident and good about myself again because I currently have the lowest self-esteem possible. I’ve also had a hormonal issue but I recently did a blood test and my hormone levels are back to normal? However, my hair still continues to grow dark and thick! I really hope this will go away someday, so thank you again for sharing your experience because it gives young girls like me hope that someday I can regain my self-worth.

    Reply

    • Hello and thanks for commenting! The reason why your hair still grows even though your hormones are alright is because the hair follicle got created. Once it’s out and started to grow, then there’s no stopping it unless permanently removed. Electrolysis takes time, year 4 for me, but it is permanent. The last time I went was 7 weeks ago for a 20 minute touch-up, whereas I used to go every week for 45min-1hr.

      Reply

    • My daughter who was diagnosed with PCOS she
      Went on a strict diet all vegetarian about 4 years ago. She was also having massive migraines and couldn’t figure out the cause. After having her first child she went back to the doctor to rerun tests. She was completely clear and no longer has PCOS and her migraines are gone. The meats especially chicken was completely eliminated from her diet.

      Reply

  12. Hello Mira and thank you for such an informing post.
    Since I have the same problem, I’d like to ask a question I do not think I read about in your post. I also have PCOS, hence facial hair, and I just started electroysis myself (that’s how I found your post). Before starting it, the electrologist told me I should do a blood test to see my hormones levels (as my doctor told me, I am “stable”, everything is within norm rates) and a US of the Ovaries. After doing the US, the gynecologist told (/confirmed) me I have PCOS and said the only way to treat the facial hair is taking the pill. The thing is, my electrologist also tells me I should get it. She says it makes her work more effective and if I won’t take it, the treatment is only 20% effective. From your experiance, is it true? Is the electroysis only effective along with a pill? What happens if I finish the treatment and therefore no longer want to take the pill, will the hair start all over again? (this is actually a question I’m wondering about- what happens after pregnancy- hormones and all- could the hair start over again?!)
    Another question, some of the facial hair is “light”. She says the only way to treat it is Laser. I’m afraid of doing so because of the shaving. I’ve read shaving makes it worse (more hair, maybe even thicker and darker) if you have PCOS. Please tell me what you think (from your experiance).
    Thank you again (sorry it’s so long)

    Reply

    • I’m going to hop in here because of the long, numerous conversations I’ve had with my doctor regarding hair and hormones. I’ve had PCOS (and endometriosis, adenomyosis, the list goes on) since I was about 13, and it’s been nightmarish trying to make sense of all of it.

      Basically, yes, the Pill would help the symptoms in the short term, but DO YOUR RESEARCH before taking anything. I absolutely hate how much the Pill is pushed nowadays, when really it’s just masking symptoms, not actually making anything better. A doctor once described it as putting a triangle block in a square receptor. It tells your body that it’s fixed, when nothing has really changed. And many times, people who have severe PCOS will see very negative side effects from the Pill. I’m not saying to ignore your doctor, but they get kickbacks from things they prescribe, which is why I only go to osteopaths. Do. Your. Research. You only get one body, and you live it with 24/7. They see you what, 2-3 times per year?

      That being said, the Pill won’t really make current hair go away, it just slows the growth a little. It’s not that electrolysis is only effective with the Pill, but your body will keep “activating” hair follicles as long as your hormones are not controlled so electrolysis can’t really keep up, and laser hair removal will never fully kill the hair, so it comes back with friends. Pregnancy actually helps some people, while it makes it worse for others, it really just depends on the person.

      Regarding shaving: It’s not that shaving makes hair come back worse, but remember the first time you shaved your legs? It’s the same amount of hair, but instead of being soft and coming to a soft end, you’ve now cut it off to a stump, so it appears thicker. My electrologist compares it to a pencil. The tip of a pencil is like unshaved hair, it is still just as broad at the tip but when you cut it to a “stump” it looks thicker. It’s not actually changing how big the hair is, just the way it appears. People with PCOS tend to have darker hair so it’s more obvious. As far as your skin is concerned, a razor is just something going over the surface, it’s not telling the hair to grow quicker or thicker (waxing, however, does).

      Reply

  13. Hey just an FYI after 40 years I’ve found a way to keep the hair off and by accident. Vitiman e oil on my face twice a day. I started doing it because I was loosing weight and wanted to keep my skin from sagging. I actually noticed that hey I hadn’t plucked in a few days and it was daily for me. Like 20 min a day. It just keeps getting less and less. No clue how long it will go for. I’ve been fighting it since I was 18 and I’m 46.

    Reply

  14. Thanks so much for sharing this Mira 🙂 I’ve read before on other blogs that with diet and excercise as you lower your insulin levels the symptoms of PCOS can cease. Would the hair not just able to be waxed and not come back after your insulin is under control?

    Reply

  15. Thank you for writing this!! I am an Electrologist in Long Island, NY. I’m planning to send the link to some of my clients. You’ve made a delicate subject easier to understand. The hardest part about Electrolysis is the explaining to potential clients and current clients the length of time it can take to achieve permanent results. It does work but it takes time.

    Reply

    • I agree. I’m an electrologists in Vaughan, ON. I have so many clients that will benefit from this blog. Understanding electrolysis is difficult in itself. Trying to tell clients the length of time it will take for an area is an entirely different struggle. You’ve done a terrific job explaining your experience. Electrolysis is the only permanent hair removal method but it takes time & patience!

      Reply

    • I found this information to be so helpful. I have been searching online for help with this embarrassing situation and I can’t tell you how much I appreciate that you have shared so much information and details. I am wondering if I have PCOS. How were you diagnosed? Should I request a blood test from my family physician or gynecologist? I have so many neck hairs I have to get threading once a week which is so time consuming.

      Reply

  17. Like everyone else, I want to say thank you for sharing your story. And congrats on going to Japan. I haven’t been diagnosed with pcos, maybe a bit of high cholesterol, but Thats about it. But with my,excessive weight gain over the last 5 years, I can definitely tell it has to do with that. I plan on turning a new leaf and monitoring the growth of hair and my weight change. Wish me luck. Also another thing that I found helps a little is a face cleansing regimine. I currently follow the 10 step Korean face care.

    Reply

  18. Did you try electrolysis in Montreal? I did electrolysis in Montreal consistently (4-5 times/month) for 4 months, in 2016. It was great and at the end my appointments were 9-10 days apart. But then I went on a 6-month trip to Europe AND IT ALL CAME BACK within weeks on that trip. I was (and still am) heartbroken that it didn’t appear to work.

    Do you think I just didn’t do it long enough? I don’t know what to do. Never tried laser, but it sounds like I shouldn’t.

    Reply

    • Hi Nicole, you simply didn’t go long enough. You need to zap the same hair follicles multiple times like 5-15 times each, just like with laser, depending on the coarseness of the hair. So if you go only once, they will come back as it wasn’t enough. Each time you zap it, the root gets smaller and smaller and eventually never grows back. Now I’m still going after 3 years, but only for 30 minutes every 6 weeks on my neck area and upper lip as those are the last areas I started. But my cheeks, chin and side burns don’t grow anymore since I zapped them regularly for a year or two. That’s why I always say that going regularly is the key so that you zap them again as soon as they come back and eventually they disappear. It takes time though. It won’t happen over night, unfortunately.

      Reply

  20. Hi there, best post I have read, makes total sense too, I have been having electron for 8 years its got better but I think my diet needs to change as I have high carbs.

    Reply

  21. So is your time estimation for whole body? Or face only? I just want my chin, mustache, inner thigh, and Brazilian/bikini.

    Reply

  22. So, I have been saying for a long time that diet will affect how my hair will grow and no one will believe me but here we are!! I have this. All of it. I have been worried about it because I’m plucking but it’s not a long term solution. Thank you for writing this!!!

    Reply

  23. Great post! I’m also moving to Japan in a few months and would like to continue my electrolysis treatments (I’ve been doing it since October of last year) and I’m curious if I could get the name of the electrolysist you’ve been seeing in Tokyo?

    Reply

      • Thanks so much! My Japanese language ability is still in the beginnner’s stage, is she or any other staff by chance multilingual? (I couldn’t find anything on the website).

        Reply

        • Hi Kate, she doesn’t really speak English, but she knows the basics. I introduced a non-Japanese speaking friend to her and she did fine by herself.
          Electrolysis is called either 電気脱毛 or 針脱毛 in Japanese.
          She charges 3000 yen for the first 10 minutes and 1000 per additional 5 minutes. So like 7000 for 30 minutes.
          Or you can buy a 5 hour package for 54900 yen + tax. That’s what I do since it’s the cheapest. I started with a 5 hour package every month, and now I get a 5 hour package every 8 months or so.
          She will do the electrolysis on any part of the body that you want. Other companies don’t do that. Like other electrolysis salons will sell a number of appointments for a crazy price and that’s it. Or just set locations and you can’t choose where you want to do it.

          Reply

  25. Hi Mira,
    Thank you so much for sharing your experience in such a detail. I am sure lot of women will find it helpful and can decide upon what to do next. I have faced similar situation like yours. I am hypothyroid and I have PCOS. I had very little facial hair on my upper lip and chin couple of years ago. But it was bothering me. And I did laser. The result is the hair on upper lip is the same as before, but chin area is a mess. The hair is like 2 inches long. Every one notices it. Though it might not be more than 50 hair there. Before laser there was hardly any hair in that area. Now I am doing electrolysis. Earlier I was not very regular. Now after reading your post I am thinking I will really be regular. I don’t know what my hormone levels are. I am feeling little disappointed and hopeless. What if after couple of years of electrolysis my hair growth will be doubled or tripled. What if it will be never ending process. Will it finally stop one day?

    Reply

    • Hi Amnika, as long as your hormones and diet are fine, the hairs will stop growing. I mean I used to go every week for an hour and now I got every 7 weeks for 30 minutes. The hair growth is definitely decreasing. It just takes time and patience unfortunately 🙁

      Reply

  26. Hello,
    Thanks for sharing your story. I have PCOS and I have read a lot about laser vs electrolysis and the consensus is that laser is not permenant and laser can make it worse. So I am plucking up the courage to get electrolysis, regardless of the pain, cost and risks. Did you experience any scarring/putting/wrinkles? That is what I am most concerned about.
    Thanks!

    Reply

    • Hi Aj, I haven’t experienced any scarring. But there are some who do and that’s usually because they put the machine too high so it burns your skin. My electrologist puts it under 1.0 and zaps me for 5-10 seconds. But most electrologists set it at like 2.0 and zaps for 1 second which is really strong and tends to burn your skin.

      Reply

      • Oh I see! Thanks for your response! I just had my first electrolysis treatment yesterday. The pain was actually not so bad. Yesterday, she thinned out the chin area. I have some redness but a lot of swelling. My chin feels almost numb. No scabs (yet). What did you do for aftercare?

        Reply

        • I just ice it for 20 minutes after each session and that’s it. I’ve never really had to do anything. I get the red bumps right after and they go away within the hour. The ice helps. When I used to do laser, I used to add some pure vitamin E oil to my face and that seemed to help more. But you definitely need to ice right after the treatment.

          Reply

  27. I must say this is a complete post about permanent hair removal. Thanks for sharing the experience. This will be helpful for new users. Pics says all. We have technology now and it is easy to get rid of unwanted hairs.

    Reply

  28. Hi Mira,

    Your blog is really helpful for all those womens who experiencing PCOs issues. I also have the same problem. And I’m getting laser treatment for that with some medications. Two sittings are done but my chin and neck area got again hairy after 3 weeks of the sitting. Still i was hopeful that after 10 aur 12 sittings it will stop growing. But after reading your blog I’m feeling hopeless. 😢😢😢

    Reply

    • Hi Kira, laser for me didn’t work at all 🙁 so I really can’t recommend it. Electrolysis, though, worked wonders!! I hope you can try it out one day!

      Reply

    • I’m having the very same issue and it’s terrible 🙁
      Unsuccessful laser caused more hair than I ever had. I should have never put laser to my face. I just re started today thinking another place, different settings will help but feeling hopeless after this post as well. I should really consider electrolysis if it has worked.. but again the the cost and time it takes is so much!

      Reply

  29. Facial hair removal is not an easy process. Nice post..
    It is important to check different aspects before going for the treatment. I also prefer to consult first since different people need different process.

    Reply

  30. Hello,

    Thank you so much for such an informative post. I am looking to get electrolysis done as well. Could you please recommend an electrologist in Ottawa?

    Thank you

    Reply

      • Do you recommend her? I have scoured the internet for electrologist in Ottawa, mainly looking for reviews that people have posted but there is nothing out there except for a few small reviews on Google and Yelp. It’s really frustrating. She seems to be the best I have seen so far.

        Reply

  31. I was only diagnosed with PCOS 2 years ago, at 35, but I should have seen the signs many years earlier. I’d always had an irregular cycle and from about 21 my facial hair had started to increase. I had a girlfriend with PCOS though, and she had the traditional apple shape body and lots of trouble getting pregnant with her husband, while I had no trouble conceiving at all, so it never occurred to me that I had it too.

    Pregnancy made my facial hair a lot worse, and I’d made enquiries about electrolysis, but the therapist had kind of talked me out of it and at the age of 25 I felt like I had not option but to live with it. I was plucking constantly and in denial. It was a sensitive topic, and I started hating having my photo taken. Eventually my mother-in-law confronted me, which was very emotional, and suggested I look into having treatments.

    Here in Australia we have a clinic called the Hair Free Centre, so I rang them and booked in for a consultation. I was 28. The lady there was lovely, and explained to me that the dark patches were not pigmentation, but the hair follicles under the skin. They use a process called IPL or SPL (Intense/Square Pulse Light) that is less invasive and painful than electrolysis, but works on a similar process where it fries the follicle.

    They explained that each treatment should remove approximately 20% of hairs permanently, depending on where the hairs are in the growth cycle. At first, when I started, it felt like getting flicked with an elastic band when the hairs were treated. The amount of times I got that sensation also reduced each treatment as there were less hairs to attack. Eventually I came to look forward to that feeling because it meant those little fuckers were dying.

    In the beginning I went every 3 weeks, but as we went along and the time between my regrowth increased, my treatment periods were spaced out to match, 5 weeks, 6 weeks, 8 weeks. After about a year, I rescheduled an appointment and forgot to rebook. I didn’t go back for nearly 2 years. But it was because things felt manageable. I went back when I noticed a few more hairs (also still unaware I have PCOS, and not having made dietary changes) on a more regular basis and had another few months treatment until I had to cancel another appointment. I haven’t been back in over a year maybe 2, but I think it’s time to go back again and have some more work done… I’m 36 now, and I can confidently say that IPL changed my life, so far as my self esteem goes. I will always be grateful to my mother-in-law for taking the bull by the horns and making me seek out options.

    I’m also glad I discovered low carb, even though I didn’t know it was great for PCOS at the time. My cycles are now pretty regular, and I’ve lost 15kg in the last 15 months. I just wish I’d known I had options years ago!

    Reply

  32. Hi. Can you talk more about how you managed to get your hormones and insulin under control and in balance? What was your diet and supplement regimen like? Thanks for sharing.

    Reply

  33. Mira, thank you so much for… everything!

    I’d just like to add, from personal experience, that even with hormones (including insulin) in normal range, facial hair can represent a HUGE problem, one laser treatments will worsen, if weight is not under control, with a diet that includes all the things we’re not supposed to eat (carbs, sugars, gluten, treated meat and dairy products…) and with a predominantly sedentary lifestyle (one hour yoga class 5 days a week is not enough!).

    I was diagnosed with PCOS and Hashimoto at 25 and had only a slight problem with facial hair. My periods have always been regular. Facial hair was not a bog problem, but was noticeable. I had to wax once or twice a month – happy days…
    At some point I tried laser and it worsened the situation, but it was still manageable.

    Almost 2 years ago, due to another autoimmune condition which affected my spine and joints, I moved less, ate more, gained weight overtime enough to disturb my balance (went from 56 kg/123 lbs to 63 kg/137). My hormone levels have always been normal but all of a sudden my facial hair went wild! It’s absolutely horrible. My periods are still in the normal range, but my cycle got shorter – from 28 days to 26.

    Endocrinologists and gynecologists are clueless, because all the results say I’m fine.

    My point is, trust yourselves. If you still have symptoms, forget the good results, and continue with the natural treatment, including cardio, exercises with weights and of course yoga and meditation (to fight stress).

    Reply

  34. Very helpful post! I’m 17 and I was diagnosed with Poc two years ago. I began seeing an indocrinologist who reccormeded I start taking metformin to regulate my insulin but I really want to do more. I don’t have as much facial hair but the rest of my body is a mess. Hair everywhere. My mom stresses out so much because she doesn’t know how to help me, she’s taken me to every doctor and reccently my obgyn mentioned electrolysis but didn’t offer much information for someone in my situation, so thank you!!

    Reply

    • Beatrice, I’m so sorry you are dealing with this. My daughter is 19 and has been dealing with pcos since she was 15. Metformin caused her to have dangerous blood sugar drops and anxiety . We are working on diet, exercise, and am now looking into electrolysis. Would love to hear if you and your mom have found anything that is helping. I totally understand how your mom feels. Nothing more helpless than watching your child suffer and not being able to help. Best wishes to you.

      Reply

  35. Thank you so much for being brave enough to talk and share about this hard subject. While I would never wish this on anyone. I does feel nice to know I am not alone in this struggle. I spent years (before finally being diagnosed with PCOS this year) feeling like a freak of nature for having so much facial hair.

    I didn’t know anything about electrolysis so I found this post very interesting and it gave me hope. You look fantastic btw!

    Reply

  37. I think this is a really brave post. Facial hair is inthink one of the toughest aspects of PCOS. I’ve been dealing with it since I was 14. I have done a combo of electrolysis and laser. I will say I did notice with laser I initially noticed an increase in hair as well. Although I’ve been doing laser so long now (off and on for 15 years) I’m able to get by with 3 maintenance treatments on my face a year. I’ve just accepted that as my hormones will never be 100% so it will be an ongoing issue. I also think much like electrolysis the competence of the laser technician makes a huge difference.

    Reply

    • Thank you so much Meghan!
      Maybe I didn’t do laser long enough, but the fact that my hair tripled scared me away for good! I’m so glad that I did electrolysis! Even if I had to go once a week for the rest of my life, I’m super happy with the results I’m getting right now!

      Reply

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